Three protesters were killed on Monday in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, as protests against President Pierre Nkurunziza spilled into a second week.
Hundreds of people took to the streets of the city on Monday after a two-day respite, marching to the city center, where they were met with police officers using tear gas and live ammunition. The demonstrations began after Mr. Nkurunziza’s governing party, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy — Forces for the Defense of Democracy, nominated him for a third term in office.
Reuters reported that three protesters were killed and 35 injured, citing the Red Cross. Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, a veteran member of the groups that organized the demonstrations, said that “some had bullet wounds.”
Mr. Nkurunziza has been in power since 2005. Members of the opposition say that under the country’s Constitution, presidents are allowed only one renewal of their five-year mandate in office, and thus Mr. Nkurunziza is barred from running again. His supporters counter that his first term does not count toward the limit because he was not directly elected in 2005.
Opponents say that by seeking another term, Mr. Nkurunziza is imperiling the Arusha peace agreement of 2000, which ended a bitter and bloody civil war. The fighting between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups, who also clashed in neighboring Rwanda, killed 300,000 people in Burundi.
“I am demonstrating because I do not back the third term of President Nkurunziza,” said Jacques Niyongabo, 24. “He has violated the Arusha peace accord and the Constitution.”
Violence associated with the recent protests has left at least nine people dead so far, with scores more injured and hundreds arrested. According to United Nations estimates, about 30,000 Burundians have sought refuge in neighboring countries, mainly in Rwanda.
Two grenades exploded in the capital last week, killing two police officers and prompting some government officials to label the protests an insurrection. The country’s defense minister, Maj. Gen. Pontien Gaciyubwenge, said on Saturday that the army, which has stayed neutral so far, would not interfere in events any way that would violate the peace agreement.
Mr. Nkurunziza’s government has cracked down on activists, journalists and independent media outlets, drawing criticism from human rights groups and diplomats.
Secretary of State John Kerry said in Nairobi on Monday that the United States was “deeply concerned about President Nkurunziza’s decision” to seek a third term. He said he hoped that the president would come to understand “the importance of adhering to the Constitution of the country,” and that “the people of Burundi will be given the choice that their Constitution promises them.”
